A day in the life...

[Mendip]

^ Linseed oil? I think that's what I used to rub on my cricket bat when I was a kid?

[Topper]

Linseed oil? I think that's what I used to rub on my cricket bat when I was a kid?

On your what....?

I did a desk I had with linseed oil about 40 years ago and it worked wonderfully, as I said, I don't know much.

[DrWilly]

Oil. A stain will fuck it.

Oh, and a red for the foot pic!

[Stumpy]

I'd use a wood sealant Mendy. It will take a few coats. Beautiful wood table. How did you come across a Mahogany table here? Did you bring it? I brought over a lot of Cherry wood furniture. Love the look.

Btw, you need to do a follow up visit with your podiatrist. That foot looks like it needs some medical attention.

[Mendip]

^ I thought the idea was to let the wood breathe rather than seal it? Although I don't know and am looking for advice. The polyurethane sealed the wood but also masked it so that you could hardly see the wood's grain or feel it's texture.

When we built the house all those years ago we had a wood guy make several pieces of mahogany furniture including a big bed, wardrobe and some wood paneling and shelf for the goldfish tank in the living room. This mahogany table is topped by a single piece of wood 2.5m x 0.9m, so it came from a big tree. There is also a coffee table around 1.5m by 0.7m. I was earning good money back in 2006 and was enjoying 65 Baht to the pound. I wouldn't go through the expense these days.

I later found out the wood guy had the mahogany smuggled in from Cambodia, which I can't say I'm proud about.

And my left foot is my good one, by the way.

[Shutree]

The polyurethane sealed the wood but also masked it so that you could hardly see the wood's grain or feel it's texture.

I grew up during the years when Scandinavian designed, unsealed teak wood furniture was popular. My parents bought a teak dining table and chairs. It's all in my sister's house now, 50-plus years on. It has only ever had teak oil used on it. What is called 'Teak Oil' quite probably has a good bit of linseed oil in it, it is for teak not from teak. It would be fine for mahogany. Tung oil is another oil option.
It is fine to seal it but since you are taking polyurethane off I guess you don't want to go that route.
The Internet is full of information, more than a person needs. We used to use an old lint-free cloth to lightly oil the wood.

How To Apply Teak Oil - WoodworkMag.Com

[Barty]

I would look at using either a Danish oil, or a hardwax oil. I use Watco Danish oils which are imported by Dyno paints. For a hardwax oil, I am using Osmo Polyx Hardwax Oil. It is available from a handful of suppliers in Thailand, the last lot of Polyx I purchased from a company called Shop Sure Rich. Both, the Danish oil and the PolyX are available with a stained colouring.

These days for table tops I am using Osmo more than the Danish oils. It resists stains well and is easy to repair if needed.

[Mendip]

Many thanks for the advice everyone, apart from Reg Dingle of course.

Barty, I was hoping you would see this as I remember that you work with wood. Thanks very much for the advice.

[Reg Dingle]

Restoring a pillaged mahogany table is very much like making love to a beautiful woman...on one of your passport runs.

First you need to slowly strip her off, then you need to generously pay for your wood's tung oiling before gently penetrating with slow strokes towards the groan then finally vigorously polish your wood and spray all your lacquer over that hot brown beauty before buffing and wiping her down with a soft Wicking cloth.

[Mendip]

^ Ummm... are you feeling quite OK?

Seems like you have something on your mind.

[Reg Dingle]

^ only trying to help...it's all in this video...

[BLD]

In lao mai Doo is the preffered wood, or rosewood both are hard to get now and expensive ,I have a quality built lounge suit in the vientiane gaff made of mai doo that was bloody expensive but like mendy I took advantage of an unusually high aussie dollar, the house itself is 2 story and ALL teak flooring the lao geezer that had it built some 30 years ago went with teak as it was still cheap and obtainable then. Not anymore

[BLD]

The next door neighbour has a vacant lot on a large plot and just grows veggies he had 3 trees right next to my fence line and 1 fell over during a storm and narrowly missed my gaff. I asked him if he could fuck of the other 2, he said Cannot they are teak and its like having money in the bank, fair enough I suppose can't argue with that but Sent Mrs bld down to the insurance to make sure we're covered if the other 2 fall the wrong way

[Mendip]

^ My dinner table sanding and oiling project seems to have taken a back seat just now... I just get no time.

I'm busy during the week and try and take the weekends off to spend time with the much neglected family. This is my favourite part of the weekend... after a bit of 'me' time with the dogs first thing Saturday morning, things tend to go downhill.



Then a full hour in the gym... my NY resolutions are finally starting to show dividends. The weather is warming up rapidly in Isaan and hopefully next week the pool water temp will hit 26 degrees which is my threshold to start swimming again.



I trimmed Anna's claws. Amazingly enough considering her background, she is the easiest of our dogs to do this to. Max needs a muzzle and Yogi would just take your throat out but luckily enough his nails don't seem to grow. Anna's nails are pale so you can see the quick inside which makes things easier than the dogs with black nails.



And after all this, finally I could start on planting the new lemon and avocado trees I picked up in Pak Chong this week.



First job was to dig out an old concrete ring where a previous lime tree had lived. My plan is to try the lemon trees down by the pond as all of our limes by the house seem to be suffering from some kind of disease.



Easy little job if it wasn't bloody 32 degrees. We've had long, cool winter but for some reason I've started doing these jobs now that the weather is heating up.



I headed down to the pond and realised that the dead coconut tree was in the way. It's been dead for a long while and has been a job in the back of my mind for some time. Well, no time like the present...



I decided to take it down with nothing more than a blunt machete and a pruning saw, which was all I could find.

This wasn't an easy job. The coconut tree had to be felled with precision. To the right and it would take out the perimeter wall, to the left and into the pond. I had maybe a metre corridor to fell the tree within.



I made a cleft to the left to direct the tree and ten started on the opposite side.



I took a pic from the other side and realised that Yogi and Maya were nailing a snake over by the waterfall. The complete buggers.



I ran over and first found a 5 inch segment of snake on the ground. Yogi attacks and shakes snakes with such extreme violence that they break apart. I guess that's evolutionary to protect against bites from venomous snakes.



A quick search and I found the rest of a previously lovely, checkered keelback, poor thing.



I collected the pieces, well, most of them.



I do all I can to protect these animals but am obviously sometimes unsuccessful. However, once something is dead I'm a firm believer that you should use it. To be honest I think that's the most moral thing to do.

So I retrieved my machete from the coconut tree and chopped the snake into pieces to feed the chickens.

Needless to say, they loved the surprise snack.





Even Som32 tried to coax her chicks to eat a piece... that snake would have loved to eat one of these chicks... is that irony? I'm not good on that one.



Anyway, after all of these diversions I was soon back to it, but the bloody tree just wouldn't go over.



Until I gave it a good West Country shove...



As Fred Dibnah would tell you, this ain't easy.



Fred, eat your heart out...



A coconut even came down with the tree, all ready to plant. That saves me a trip to the nursery.



I trimmed away the fronds so that the true perfection of the fall could be appreciated. Absolutely inch prefect.

Just call me Fred!





I trolleyed down the concrete ring to it's new location and that was it... lunchtime, and I'd promised the daughter to make pies with her in the afternoon.



At this rate of progress I should get the new trees planted by May or June. Tomorrow I'm supposed to be taking the daughter to The Mall... then I'll have to wait until next weekend to get anything done.

I must admit that sometimes I think I'd just like to spend a Saturday propping up the bar in Fitzgeralds on Soi 4 and end the day hanging out the back of some nubile and complaint young companion in a seedy hotel room... but I honestly think that I'd miss this shite I go through day after day in Isaan.

And I ain't getting any younger.

[hallelujah]

Fred Dibnah is about as far away from the trials and tribulations of life in Isaan as it is possible to imagine, but the BBC series from years ago, which you linked to, is all on Youtube and is a great watch.

I'd recommend it to anyone even if you know nothing about steam engines or being a steeplejack. Watching him scale those old mill towers, I'm surprised he was able to walk given the size of the bollocks he must have had.

[Mendip]

^ I just started watching a few of his videos.

When I'm at work, 'Working at Height' is classed as any height where you could fall and suffer injury... ie even standing on a chair, and if procedures aren't followed jobs will be lost. This guy climbed up chimneys 50m, 80m high (?) without a safety tether to be seen. I can fell a coconut tree to precision but I couldn't do that!

[hallelujah]

^ I just started watching a few of his videos.

When I'm at work, 'Working at Height' is classed as any height where you could fall and suffer injury... ie even standing on a chair, and if procedures aren't followed jobs will be lost. This guy climbed up chimneys 50m, 80m high (?) without a safety tether to be seen. I can fell a coconut tree to precision but I couldn't do that!

He's also brilliantly down to earth as well.

[Looper]

I made a cleft to the left to direct the tree and ten started on the opposite side.

The left cleft is your face cut. The right cleft is your back cut.


I don't know which cleft this is... but Fred Dibnah would not have been allowed on the BBC with undercrackers like those on parade



Needs pixellating and censoring!

[DrWilly]

Your red silk wicker’s are showing!

[Joe 90]

Needs pixellating and censoring!

I concur

[Buckaroo Banzai]

^ Linseed oil? I think that's what I used to rub on my cricket bat when I was a kid?

No wonder you could not hit a damn thing.
We used it to soften a new baseball glove .

[Buckaroo Banzai]

A quick search and I found the rest of a previously lovely, checkered keelback, poor thing.

I was wondering why you guys get so many snakes where I rarely get any. I remember reading or hearing some place that chicken attract snakes.. Is that true?

A coconut even came down with the tree, all ready to plant.

I am no coconut expert, but isn't this a bit of an invasive way of collecting coconuts?

Until I gave it a good West Country shove.

I wish there was a way of un-seeing this, but I took one for the team and fixed it for you
You are welcome!

[DrWilly]

Dafuc you need to quote and repost that damn pic for!


Reds incoming


because

[Stumpy]

Nice Job Mendy and thanks for sharing.

[Shutree]

I trimmed away the fronds so that the true perfection of the fall could be appreciated. Absolutely inch prefect.

That's a good job. These things are easier in theory than in practice. Even missed all the dogs.